SUMMARY - IMAGE ACQUISITION AND ANALYSIS MODULE The Image Acquisition and Analysis Module provides our Participating Faculty and their laboratory staff access to state-of-the-art equipment and technical support for highly sophisticated imaging and analyses. This equipment and support is essential for the success of numerous NEI-funded projects, and for new faculty to acquire critical preliminary data for R01 applications. Vision research projects involving imaging require expert knowledge of different acquisition methods; brightfield, darkfield, fluorescence, phase contrast and DIC microscopy as well as optical coherence tomography. Also required is understanding of the theory underlying the acquisition of the data, storage, transfer and interpretation of the data in order to to maintain the integrity of the data for ethical analysis and quantification. These latter aspects create a significant barrier to those with little experience in imaging but who wish to employ imaging-based methodologies in their vision research, and they can also hinder the progress of even the most experienced operator if the equipment is not well maintained. The Image Acquisition and Analysis Module provides the theoretical and practical training necessary to overcome the former of these barriers, and the technical expertise and care required to manage the complexities of equipment utilized for a variety of imaging modalities.